Anyone retiring very early?

[Yoosee]

we may be able to retire in a few years- DH will be 53 and I’ll be 52. By my calculations we’ll have enough money for a good standard of living.

Has anyone else done this or planned to? DH’s job has very long hours and lots of travel. He’s also mindful of the fact that his father had a serious heart attack in his 50s. My job is less stressful but I don’t love it.

If you are doing this, do you do substantial voluntary work or some sort of side hustle? Quite like the idea of a tiny fun business- maybe restoring furniture- but at the moment I have absolutely no skills in that area.

https://www.retirementlivingstandards.org.uk/details
This is handy for an idea of amounts needed for retirement.

I'm 56, retired last year as DH is older than me and already retired.
At first I struggled as it felt "wrong" and I had so much guilt about not working and "contributing to society". However after 37years of giving it 110% in the NHS I was burned out and my health was starting to suffer.
My pensions have taken a hit, but we have no mortgage or debt, DH has a good pension and I could easily manage on his "survivor" pension if anything happened to him (God forbid).
I had big ideas about volunteering, but honestly, I'm through with being told what to do 😂.

Go for it OP, there's no point in saving for a retirement if you are too old and inform to enjoy it.

I have friends who are a couple that retired from corporate law in their early 50’s. But they both retrained to do things that kept them busy and allowed them to do something valuable with their time.

One retrained as a teacher and teaches a couple of days a week in his chosen subject. The other retained as a children’s counsellor.

Both are very much enjoying stepping off the hectic corporate ladder and appear to have a really great quality of life.

They did do a lot of research and prep into what they wanted to achieve from their long retirement before they did it though.

DH and I retired at 55. We live rurally in a large house with grounds that have taken time to renovate. We are on 3 local committees helping to support te community.

We have a flat in London and visit monthly to see DD and help out with our DGS.

Yes. I have a side hustle. Dh is semi retired/ working for himself, it’s only been a month and he’s still finding his feet. Holidays are booked, as are days out, weekends away etc we’re quite busy.
52 and 51 have invested heavily in the last 10 years/ paid very well. We will have enough income to not dip into savings this tax year and possibly next.
Mortgage paid off, kids set up- although we’ll probably keep helping them when we can. Grandchild has a savings account for his future.

The decision to leave 9-5 grind was not that hard!

I retired at 57 and my OH (who is 3yrs younger than me) went PT working just 2-days a week.
Works for us, we enjoy a good standard of living and have plenty to keep us occupied.

Have never thought it was a mistake to finish so early, it is only here on MN that there appears to be an undercurrent of opinion that you will be bored, need work to keep you occupied etc.

You should set up a SIPP with AJ Bell or Interactive Investor or similar low fee platform. Check out the Rebel Finance videos or if you can't be bothered invest in a global tracker fund via one of the above platforms.

I retired at 54 and DH at 58. Financially we have been very fortunate. Both have private pensions and around 500k in savings, so no worries there. I’m nearly 60 now and spend my mornings walking the dog, going to gym, going shopping, lunch out, trips to nearby parks and beaches for long walks, some grandchild care though not much tbh. Afternoons tend to be spent in the house on housework, indoor hobbies like baking, sewing, jigsaws.

i love it. In 6 years I have maybe thought about returning to work on 2 or 3 occasions when I’ve been a little bored but that soon passed.

my only advice would be to ensure you have things to keep you occupied.

My DH is 53 and would like to retire in a few years. He has a side business to keep him occupied, but I suspect he’ll need more activities when he actually retires. I’m 51 and not ready to retire for a while tbh, I’m too nervous about running out of money later even though I’m not in a bad position.

One of DH’s colleagues (late 50’s) is retiring this spring so we’ll be watching them to see how it goes.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire !!!!

Your friends were very smart @Franpie . They’ve retrained in professions that need people and can control how much/little they work. Sounds ideal.

DH died when he was 54. I retired at 54, partly because if what I saw happen to him.

I have taken on some consulting work, but mostly come and go as if I were retired.

What I do notice when people talk about early retirement is it's nearly always "we" . Do think about how you'd manage personally and financially if it ends up just being one of you. E.g although I get some money from DH's occupational pension, it's not as much as if he'd lived, which has an impact because my expenses are pretty much the same.

I retired at 53 I did a combination of temp work and voluntary work. I really enjoyed it.

We are looking to retire next year, DH will be 57, I will be 45, having worked long hours home and abroad as a consultant. With my pension kicking in later, we are planning to live off savings until DH released pension at 65. We have spent the past few years maximising and overpaying both pensions. There will be sporadic travels, increased focus on health and wellbeing, hobbies and time with parents. Our focus changed from luxury life style when I had a stroke at the age of 39. Im considering doing a degree and may then look at how i can use that in consulting and volunteering in a few years (if / when boredom hits)

I retired a couple of years ago in my early 50’s and now one year into a 3 year degree to be a nurse. I left the corporate world and could have lived off my pension but wanted to do something to help others and this appealed to me.

I would think doing some voluntary work would make sense, its easy to say the number of hours you're willing to do and take holiday breaks.

My parents didn't particularly retire early- dad was 62, mum 65, but both did a fair bit of voluntary work . They've had to quit now due to their health but are now in their 80s.

Highly recommend the Rebel Finance course for anyone new to investing/retirement planning. It’s free and really opened my eyes to passive investment. I intend to retire in about 12-18 months when I’ll be 57. I’m trying to find the sweet spot where I can maintain my current lifestyle, I’m perfectly happy financially right now, I don’t want to carry on working beyond the point where I’ll have more income than I do now. My mum died less than 12 months after she retired and I don’t want that to be me. I have so many plans to fill my time post-retirement, I’m itching to get started! I have already made some baby steps towards retirement, I’m (re) learning the piano and focusing on keeping physically fit. Can’t wait!!

I retired from teaching last year aged 56 and 6 months. My DP is self employed and will continue working a bit longer.

I had breast cancer in 2021 and it totally changed my headspace. I lost all the love for my job after 29 years so we downsized and paid off the mortgage.

I now do a few days supply a month, meet friends for coffee/lunch, take part in a Nordic walking group, read. We have been doing some travelling too and have some exciting things planned this year.

My parents are both in their 80's and although well at the moment there are some niggly health issues appearing so im glad I will be about more.

Retiring has been the best for me.

Yes i volunteer in a charity shop, go to a crochet group twice a month. Still do consultancy for my employer a few hours a month. Spend time on my hobbies, read, walk my dogs. Go to the cinema when I fancy a film (going to the Elvis one on Monday). The house has never been cleaner. I stopped full time 8 months ago not due to “retire” till 67. I will be 61 in March

What is your version of a “good standard of living”?

I know someone who retired in his early 40s and has wasted every year since - never been abroad and just stays at home with no friends or outside hobbies.

However I also know someone who inherited and stopped work who has been able to be a SAHM with lovely holidays and lots of good food and culture.

It will be what you make of it. Adult Education Centres often do upholstery courses too!

I enjoy my job but I’d like to retire early 60s. Or go part time at least.

Looking a buying a home abroad so I can split my time between there and the uk.

I retired from teaching at 54. I used savings for a year then took my teachers pension at 55. Best thing I ever did. DH retired a couple of years earlier when he was 60.

I had a year out, moving house, renovating and did some volunteering and enjoyed not waking up early! Then I took a part-time charity role, 3 mornings a week which I did for 2 years. Now run my own small business which is my dream. Still volunteer with a couple of community groups, spend time looking after DGCs and just enjoying holidays and time with DH and on my own. I'm not good at doing nothing so need to keep busy but it's all on my terms which makes such a difference and working for yourself is amazing. Make it something you love and are passionate about.

Retired over 14 years ago in my early 40s. I love my life, i am never bored and i don't volunteer, gave more than enough of my time to Cubs, Brownies, Guides and Youth club. I do keep an eye on elderly neighbours and will shop for them, do a few household jobs they can't manage or just pop in to see how they are. I travel, i lunch, i walk. We are lucky in that we grow, rear, or catch most of our own food so our food shop is minimal. We aren't wealthy but we aren't skint. Life is what you make it.

No quote to show who this question was aimed at but as I made the same statement up-thread, I will reply.

Lovely house, good pension income, significant savings, no debt or finance.
We go away regularly, can shop when & where we like, can buy new vehicles outright and would not be overly concerned if an unexpected bill came our way.

To me that is a good standard of living so I hope our health holds up so we can enjoy it for many years to come.🤞